Month: January 2023

With Christmas tunes marching down and out the charts, Raye is targeting her first U.K. No. 1 single.

The U.K.-based singer and songwriter leads the midweek U.K. chart with “Escapism” (up 6-1), ahead of SZA’s “Kill Bill” (RCA/Top Dawg) and Central Cee‘s “Let Go” (Central Cee), respectively.

A multiple BRIT Award nominee best known for tracks including “Bed” (U.K. No. 3); “Secrets” with Regard; (U.K. No. 6) and Jax Jones’ “You Don’t Know Me” (U.K. No. 3), Raye in flourishing in her new, independent phase.

“Escapism” is released through Human Re Sources, J. Erving’s distribution and artist services company, which she signed to in 2022 after publicly splitting with Polydor a year earlier.

“Imagine this pain,” she wrote about her major label arrangement in 2021. “I have been signed to a major label since 2014…and I have had albums on albums of music sat in folders collecting dust, songs I am now giving away to A list artists because I am still awaiting confirmation that I am good enough to release an album.”

Meanwhile, Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary” (Interscope) is making quite a stir, thanks to a viral TikTok dance sensation inspired by Wednesday star Jenna Ortega. “Bloody Mary,” lifted from Mother Monster’s 2011 LP Born This Way, could nab a top 40 spot for the first time. It’s flying 59-16 on the Official Chart Update.

Finally, the late Whitney Houston could stage a return to the top 40, following the theatrical release of the biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody. Its title track, which peaked at No. 1 back in 1987 (via Arista), is set to return at No. 36.

All will be revealed when the chart is published Friday (Jan. 6).

As 2023 gets underway, Lady A member Charles Kelley has been looking back on 2022, which he called “a big year of change” in a recent Instagram post.

In August 2022, Lady A announced they were putting their Request Line Tour on hold in order to support Kelley on his sobriety journey.

“We are a band, but more importantly … we’re family,” the trio wrote via a statement at the time. “We’re proud to say that Charles has embarked on a journey to sobriety. So, right now in order to be the healthiest, strongest and most creative band we can be, Lady A will take the time with the support of our families and team of professionals to walk through this together. It’s early on this road, but we are determined to do what will best set us up for many more years together. We are grateful for your patience.”

In a new interview with Men’s Health, Kelley opened up about his previous attempts at sobriety and what has made this time different.

Kelley noted that he had been trying to stop drinking on his own since January 2022, following a vacation in Greece with his wife Cassie and several friends. This marked his third attempt at sobriety. Kelley made his first attempt more than six years ago. As with his previous sobriety attempts, Kelley has the full support of his Lady A bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood. Kelley said that this attempt at sobriety has been different, noting, “This is the first time I actually put tools in place.”

When Kelley revealed his plan to one of Lady A’s managers, Callie Cunningham Nobel, she connected with Tennessee nonprofit Porter’s Call, which helps music artists with care and resources. One day later, Kelley went into a treatment center.

Kelley also pointed out a few of the advantages he’s experienced since cutting out alcohol — namely feeling better, having more energy and being in better shape.

“It’s amazing what not drinking will do,” Kelley told the outlet. “You save yourself, I’m ashamed to say, anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 calories a day in booze — you’re bound to lose some weight. But I look back at pictures from just three months ago. It’s my face, my midsection. I’ve found that it all goes hand in hand. When I’m not drinking, I feel better. So then I work out.” 

Kelley has found different things to turn to, such as ice cream and LaCroix (Kelley told the outlet that he drinks an estimated 15 cans of LaCroix water per day).

“My wife bought me an ice cream maker, and I unapologetically every night will destroy almost a pint of ice cream. I’m just like, ‘Listen, I gotta have something,’” he said.

Kelley also released what he calls “a goodbye letter to alcohol” with the song “As Far As You Could,” which he wrote with Haywood and Jimmy Robbins.

Lady A and their team are now working through setting up tour logistics, and Kelley says he is approaching the upcoming tour similarly to how he saw some other artists approach their tours — with no alcohol allowed on buses and backstage.

“They’ve been doing this thing for 15, 20 years and are in the same spot that I’m in right now,” Kelley said. “What do you want out of this life? Do you want to wreck your family and your career? Or do you want to put some things into place to keep it successful?”

Phoebe Bridgers‘ father has died, according to a post shared on Tuesday (Jan. 3) by the “I Know the End” singer.

“rest in peace dad,” she captioned a throwback photo of herself with pink hair, smiling alongside her late father. She did not share any additional info regarding the cause of his death.

Bridgers has detailed her complicated relationship with her father over the years through interviews and music. In a 2019 interview with GQ, the 28-year-old shared that her dad was a scenic carpenter who had a “drug thing.”

The fan-favorite track, “Kyoto,” off her sophomore album Punisher, also touches on her paternal relationship. “You called me from a payphone / They still got payphones / It cost a dollar a minute / To tell me you’re getting sober / And you wrote me a letter / But I don’t have to read it,” she sings in the opening verse, later crooning, “I don’t forgive you / But please don’t hold me to it / Born under Scorpio skies / I wanted to see the world / Through your eyes until it happened.”

In an interview with NPR’s Sam Sanders for It’s Been A Minute in December 2020, she described their relationship as “a very weird combination of emotionally unavailable, but very present in a weird way.” However, she added that as she has grown into adulthood, she has developed more sympathy for each of her parents. 

Wynonna Judd assured worried fans with a mental health update posted to Instagram on Tuesday (Jan. 3), which she decided to share after realizing that some of her followers were “genuinely concerned” about her.

“Well, I’m OK,” she began, in response to a comment that Judd displayed in the video, accusing the star’s manager “pushing her too hard.” The commenter wrote, “For God’s sake…she just tragically lost her mother. Seems like her manager is getting a little greedy at the expense of her health. She just doesn’t appear well. I would like to see her take an extended break for her own mental and physical health.”

“I am working so hard on my mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing,” Judd explained. “I have a great team. I’m really blessed, and I’m broken, and I’m working really hard at self care, which is not selfish. It’s sacred.”

Judd added that while she has a “full schedule,” she also spends time at her farm, takes walks in the woods and spends time with her family and dogs. She concluded by saying, “The last thing I’ll say is: can’t keep a good woman down too long.”

Wynonna’s mother, Naomi Judd, who had battled depression, died by suicide on April 30, one day before The Judds were set to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. “I did not know that she was at the place she was at when she ended it, because she had had episodes before and she got better,” the 58-year-old shared of her mother’s death in a September interview with CBS Sunday Morning. “And that’s what I live in, is like, ‘Was there anything I should have looked for or should I have known?’ I didn’t. That’s why it’s such a shock.” 

Watch Wynonna’s mental health update below.